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@uiten gisten @anni @frn WILLIAM vO. DODGE, OFWASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. Letters Patent N0. 63,620, dated April 9, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN BOAT-DETAGHING TAGKLE.

IOi ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

' Be it known that I, WILLIAM CASTLE DODGE, of Washington city, in the county ot' Washington, and District of Columbia, have invented. certain new and useful improvements in Boat-Detnching Apparatus; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification', and to the letters of reference marked thereon, like letters indicating like parts wherever they occur.

To enable others skilled in the art to construct and use my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

My invention consists in a. novel construction and arrangement of devices for detaching boats, as hereim after explained.

Figure 1 is a top planv view of a boat with my improvement applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same.

Figure 3 isa side elevation of a boat having the detaching applied in a diierent manner.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the locking-bar, shown detached.

Figures 5, 5, 7, S, and 9 are views of portions detached, and of various modifications of the locking-har.

In lowering and det-aching boats from the sides of vessels, it is desirable to have both ends of the boat simultaneously and instantaneously detached, so that it may enter or strike upon the water as nearly as possible on a level, andV so as to prevent one end from being loosened or detached while the other remains fast to the fall; as, when such an accident does occur, the end that remains fast is liable to he lifted clear of the water bythe roll of the vessel, or by the depression of a. wave at the loose end, and thus endanger' the lives of the occupants and the loss of whatever the boat contains. To obviate the difficulties and dangers attendant upon the lowering and detaehing of boats by the usual method, various plans and devices have been invented, the most obvious of which for detaching the boat are bolts to be withdrawn from eyes or rings attached to the falls. 'Ihese devices are objectionable, for the reason that the locking-bolts,pbeing attached to the rods or levers that operate them by means of loose joints or pivots, are liable to become detached separately, and as these detaching devices are of most importance in cases ot' accidents at sea, by the foundering or burning of the vessel, at which time the small boats are likely to be filled to their full capacity with persons, it is of the utmost importance that the detaching apparatus should operate with certainty and with success; and it is to insure those results that my invention is specially intended. For this purpose I take any ordinary small boat, and locate in its centre a rod B, as represented in figs. l and 2. This rod is secured under the seats or strong cross-pieces C, which should be firmly secured hy rods or bolts to the bottom ot the boat, to prevent their being loosened, the rod B having its bearings in suitable blocks or guides secured to the under side of the cross-pieces C, and arranged to slide to and fro therein. A rectangular hole or mortise is eut through the cross-pieces C, of proper size to receive the lower portion of the eye-block E, the form of which is shown in fig. 8. These eye-blocks are provided with shoulders which prevent their dropping entirely through the mortises, and have a hole through their lower portion of proper size to permit the end of bar B to enter with ease, tlieir upper ends being provided with holes or rings to secure them to the falls by which the boat is suspended. The rod B has its rear end bent so as to turn or point forward inthe same direction as its `front end, as shown clearly in Iig. 4, so that a forward movement of the rod will cause both ends to enter the holes in the eye-blocks, and a reverse movement of the bar will withdraw both from the eye-bolts simultaneously. A lever, L, is pivoted at one end under one ol the seats, and is pivoted to the bar B, as shown in iig. 4, and also in dotted lines in iig. 1, by which tue bar B muy be operated. A spring-catch, Z, or similar device, is arranged to hold the lever L in place and prevent the aceidental disengaging of the bar B. By arranging the lever and its catch under the sea-t in this manner, I o'oviate the danger of/their being accidentally or prematurely moved.

To use my device it is only necessary to insert the eye-blocks in the mortises, the bar B being drawn buck for that purpose, and then shove the har forward, when it enters theholes in the blocks at each end andsecurely fastens them in place. When the boat has been lowered, and it is desired to detach it, it is only7 necessary to draw the har B back by pulling on the lever L, by which movement both ends ofthe bar will be simultaneously and instantly withdrawn from the eye-blocks, thereby detaching the boat at both ends with perfect certainty.

As the location of the bar B in the centre of the boat is objectionable in some cases, from the fact that it may be in the way of boxes, barrels, and similar'articles that it maybe desirable to place in the boat. and for the reason, also, that suoli articles, in the hurry and confusion attendant on the lowering oi' the `bouts in case of shipwreck, fire, or battle, will be likely to be thrown or forced against the bar B, enlangering thejannning or bending of the same, so that it will not work with ense and certainty, I have devised' a plan for using the saine suspended above the boat, as represented in iig. 3. To accomplish this I provide a light spar or har, H, and attach it securely to the falls or lines, G, as shown i'n fig. 3. I then secure the locking-bar or rod B, eonstructed as already described, to the upper Side of thais spur II, in such a manner that when the eye-blocks E are inserted from below, through `suitable, mortises made in the spor, the ends of the locking-bar B will engage in the same and lock them securely in place, the same as when the bar B is locatedin the boat, except that the position of the eye-blocks and the bar is reversed, the parts boing inverted. The har B is held in guides, bf

and is operated by an elbow-lever, It", as shown, or by any other suitable arrangement of devices, To prevent 4this lever from being accidentally moved, I provide a ring or loop, t, which Vis so hung that it will engage over the end of the lever and hold it securely in place; and to insure still greater cert.1inty,.-I multe a notch in the under side of the lever, to hold the loop t over the end of the lever F, as shown in iig. By simply pulling down the end of the lever F the rod B will'be thrown back, releasing both. eye-blocks E simultaneously, and thelatter being connected to the boat by short lines or ropes I, it is obvious that the boat will be thereby disengaged, and the spar H, with the locking-bar,ox` rod B, will remain suspended by and attached to the falls G. For convenience, the line I should only beof such a length as to enable a person sitting on a seat in the boat to reach the lever F with ease.

As it will require considerable force to operatevthe locking-bar B when the whole weightof a bont, with its load, is held by it, I provide the end of the eye-blocks with friction-rollers, as represented in fig. 8, land also place friction-,rollers under the bar B, as near as possible to the eye-blocks, as represented by 1', fig. 3. When the bar B is placed in the boat the rollers r will be placed above the bar B, in the cross-pieces C, as shown in lig. 2, or in the guide-blocks attached thereto. 'Ilo prevent the mortises or sockets in which the cye-bolts are inserted from being'worn, and at the same time furnish a bearing for the rollers r, and a guide for thc'loekingbar B, I construct the box J, as shown in section in fig. 5. This box is cast in a single piece, with a vertical hole in the centre for receiving the eye-block E, and a projecting ange, It, for securing it in place by screws or bolts, and has a hole for the bar B to pass longitudinally through, as represented. This box is secured by bolts or screws to the under side of the cross-pieces C, as represented in fig. 5, when it is desired `to locate the bar B in the boat, and the same box rmay be used when the bar B is used with the spar H, by simply inverting the box J and bolting it to the upper side of the spar.

Instead of making the locking-bar B as above described, and arranging it to move longitudinally, it may be constructed as represented in fig. 6, having its locking points bent at right angles to its body, and pointing in opposite directions to engage in the eye-blocks E, the bar in suoli case being pivoted at its centre, and arranged to rotate sidewise far enough` to withdraw the locking points or arms from the eye-blocks. Or it may have its locking-arms both projecting from one side, as shown -in fig-7, the ends of the arms in such case being bent at right angles with their main portion, as shown in iig. 9, the bar B in that case being journalled, so as to rotate bodily, like a shaft, and 'thus withdraw the locking points from the eye-blocks. These latter plans, however, are but modications of the one formerly described, and are not deemed as efficient as the former, for the reason that the springing ofthe rod or ofthe arms might possibly interfere with the simultaneous unlocking of the points at both ends. In applying my invention, I deem it of great importance that the locking points should both be rigidly attached to a solid bar, and thus avoid the intervention of any loose or working joint between 'the two locking points or bolts. In this way I secure absolute certainty in the simultaneous unlocking at each end, without which any boat-detaching device is imperfect and dangerous.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, is-

1. A boat-detaching device, consisting of two locking points or bolts connected by a rigid sliding-bar, and having no loose or working joints between said locking points, arranged to operate in combination with the eyeblocks E, substantially as described.

2. I claim the sliding-bar B, havingits rear end bent, as shown in fig. 4, for the purpose of enabling both. ends to be disengaged from the eye-blocks simultaneously by a single movement, substantially as described.

3.1 claim the combination of the sllidingfoar B with the spar H, or its equivalent, when arranged for joint' operation as and'for the purpose herein' set forth.

W. C.' DODGE.

Witnesses:

T.. H UPPERMAN, CHAS.' E. UPPERMAN. 

